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There will be a March on Washington to Defend Public Education and oppose the privatizing policies of Arne Duncan at the U.S. Department of Education on Saturday, April 10th at noon. The event has been endorsed by the Detroit Federation of Teachers, the California Federation of Teachers, the New Haven Federation of Teachers and the Detroit Board of Education

Over the past year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has exploited the economic crisis to impose an unpopular, anti-union, anti-democratic, privatization scheme on our nation’s public school system;This scheme has entailed scape-goating teachers, students and parents for all the social ills of our society that are reflected in the achievement gap between impoverished, predominantly minority, inner-city districts and primarily white, affluent districts; shredding decades of gains won by teachers’ unions; massive closures of public schools and redirection of school funds and facilities to benefit charter schools; and dictatorial “takeovers” of districts to suppress any community resistance to privatization.If allowed to succeed, this drive to place our nation’s schools under the laws of “market-forces” will end public education as a right, and increase educational inequality based on race and class.Arne Duncan’s “Race to the Top” scheme has been used as a carrot and a stick to force school districts and unions to bow to the demands for school privatization. It has held desperately needed federal funds hostage – to be allotted only to those districts which bow to privatization and union busting.Parents, teachers, students and community activists in districts across the country have been bravely fighting these attacks. However, these efforts have been overwhelmingly localized struggles – district by district, with little communication or coordination between them.To defeat this national attack, promoted by Arne Duncan and pro-charter billionaires, a national movement in defense of public education is needed that unites parents, teachers, students and all defenders of the cherished institution of public education across the nation.

The demands of the march are the following:

· Demand that Education Secretary Arne Duncan stop toying with our students’ lives· End the “Race to the Top” Scheme Now· Release All Federal Education Funds to the States Based on Need· End the Attacks Against Teachers, Black, Latina/o and Poor, Working-Class and Middle-Class Students of All Races· No Privatization of Public Education· No More Separate and Unequal· Restore Dr. King’s Vision for America

For more information, and to obtain literature, call 313-438-3748 or go to www.bamn.com

I don’t much like the way Unity portrays its opponents. In a recent campaign piece, ICE/ TJC presidential candidate James Eterno is described as “defeated,” because he questioned the point of the PEP vote. I know James Eterno, and if he is “defeated,” the Energizer bunny is passed out drunk in a ditch somewhere. When James said that, the PEP had never voted against a single administration proposal, so it was hardly surprising they supported administration that day as well. Given that PEP is basically a rubber stamp for the mayor, the decision of UFT leadership to wait until the day of the final vote to rally was perhaps not the best. In fact, as whoever wrote that piece well knows, James not only called for more rallies (which they ridicule, since they say a lawsuit makes more sense), but he also emailed UFT President Michael Mulgrew specifically asking to participate in the lawsuit.

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"Labor cannot stand still. It must not retreat. It must go on, or go under."

Harry Bridges

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UFT Reports Filed With Labor Deparment

Each year our union is required, by law, to file several financial reports. The form, called an LM-2, is available here. This report reflect transactions for the year ending July 31, 2014. It was prepared on December 23, 2014.

Additionally the Department of Labor provides other reports about the UFT. Go to their site and input file number 063-924 at the top and select the type of report you want to review. These files are in spreadsheet format.